870 Express Tactical for Hunting

[MMH]

I need to buy another shotgun. My 12 year old boy is loves to go hunting and will repossess my 870. It is a 870 express turkey camo that both he & I love. We use it primarily for small game in heavy woods and the 21" remchoke barrel makes the gun very easy to handle. The gun was also fairly inexpensive ($300 or so).

Now thinking about getting an 870 Express Tactical for hunting. Would back up as a home defense weapon as well. It has a the longer magazine tube & a 18-1/2" barrel. The only real downside is the lack of vent rib & having a sight mounted on the front. Is the front sight that big? Can I look over it just as I would any other shotgun barrel?

[ar15jules]

It can be done.

[Franchi20/28]

Does the barrel have choke tubes?
Or is it a cylinder choke?
If it's the latter you will want to add a 2nd barrel for hunting.

I bought a brand new Mossburg 500 combo that came with the 18 1/2" cylinder bore HD barrel and a 26 or 28 or whatever inch interchangeable choke tube barrel for hunting for $300

good luck this season.

[MMH]

Does the barrel have choke tubes?
Or is it a cylinder choke?
If it's the latter you will want to add a 2nd barrel for hunting.

I bought a brand new Mossburg 500 combo that came with the 18 1/2" cylinder bore HD barrel and a 26 or 28 or whatever inch interchangeable choke tube barrel for hunting for $300

good luck this season.

It has the choke tubes. Nothing against Mossburg, but I am an avid 870 fan.

[hgsw67]

As I understand it the 870 express will accept any 870 barrel. i have the tactical express which came with a 18.5" barrel. i used the same gun this weekend with a 26" ribbed barrel for Sporting Clays.

[bigandy1966]

And its plugged to a 3 shot max right?

[bac0nfat]

I've heard that vent ribs are good for adding value to a shotgun, while no rib shotguns are good for getting game.

I have an 870 express HD, which has the 18.5" barrel and no rib. I have no problems hitting anything with it.

[MMH]

And its plugged to a 3 shot max right?

Making a 3 shot plug would be easy. Actually, you would not have to - the extra 2 shot capacity is a magazine extension which can be removed. Then the standard 3 shot plug can be inserted & you are as legal as if you were hunting w/ a single shot.

[Franchi20/28]

It has the choke tubes. Nothing against Mossburg, but I am an avid 870 fan.

Naa it's all good.

My point was only that while most people hunt with too much choke, a no choke barrel isn't ideal either. If it has tubes then put in an IC and hunt away.

[MMH]

Naa it's all good.

My point was only that while most people hunt with too much choke, a no choke barrel isn't ideal either. If it has tubes then put in an IC and hunt away.

The express tactical I'm looking at has has the ghost ring sight on the rear & a front sight that is the size & shape of a rifle sight, not just a bead. I would be able to remove the rear ghost, but, would this front sight be too big to look over while hunting small game?